(Genderbend) The Newsgirls of Manhattan
by Stardust's Revenge
Summary: A series of stories about everyone's favorite Newsies, but genderbent! Simply because genderbending is awesome. ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey party people! NewsieGirlScout is back, with a short little one-shot to show I'm not dead. (No folks, not yet. ;p)This will be a multi chaptered work, with all characters genderbent, because genderbending is awesome. ;D**

In the back of the lodging house, someone coughed weakly.

The coughs became louder, until all heads were turned toward a freckled girl in her teens with curly ginger hair wearing a tan, nineteenth-century style shirt , a brown vest, and a gray skirt with a long rip up the side, clearly hand-stitched back together, sitting on her bunk nearly doubled over with pain, wheezing for air.

''What happened, Crutch?'' asked an older girl with half-tangled brown hair wearing a blue-striped shirt with a red bandana tied around her neck and dirty coffee-colored skirts, jumping down from the bunk above Crutchy's.

Crutchy reached for a canteen in the canvas paper-selling bag under her bed, pulled the cork out, and drank half of it in one gulp before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and replying, ''I'm fine.'' Then a few seconds later, ''Actually, I'm not fine, I just came back from the refuge last week, if you remember, where you got whupped whenever you stepped outta line, plus all the kids beat each other up in their free time, and I probably contracted a few illnesses.''

''But I'll probably be alright, I mean, I'm still breathing, ain't I?'' she said, finishing the note with a smile.

''Those are strong words from someone who was just coughing their lungs out a second ago, Crutchy.'' Jackie said, a serious expression on her face. She had been to the refuge numerous times, and she knew for a fact that the scrapes and bruises you got there weren't just the kind you could put some alcohol on and walk off. In fact, Kid Blink (A girl with scruffy blond hair tied back in a ponytail,with one crystal-blue eye and the other covered with an eyepatch, wearing the same shirt and vest as Crutchy, but with a light, key-lime green skirt) had gone to the refuge, and well…look at her depth perception now. Crutchy had a weak immune system to begin with, but if her wounds didn't get cleaned out, she'd probably kick the bucket by next week.

''C'mon, Crutchy, let's get you into the washroom.'' Jackie said, pulling the girl forward in the direction of the room.

Crutchy, always realizing things about about a minute too late, didn't notice what Jackie intended to do until her feet felt the cold tiles of the floor and the small puddle of water that someone had spilled earlier, and nobody bothered to clean up. At that point, she jumped and slid under Mush's bunk, cowering near the wall's wooden slats for the rest of the night.

To put it shortly, Crutchy turned out to be a pretty good thinker under pressure. The bunk she had slid under was one of the few that didn't have burnt-out cigarettes littering the floor under it, and when Blink teased Crutchy about the rats in the walls eating her flesh while she slept, Mush (A girl with short, curly black hair wearing the same shirt and vest as Blink, but with a skirt striped rainbow) had told Blink to lay off on scaring the poor girl, or she would catch one of the rats herself and set it loose on the blond, one-eyed teen while SHE was sleeping, and how would she like that. This of course set off an argument among the girls about if rats ate human skin, and if so, why hadn't they eaten Snipeshooter yet, and so on, until it turned into a series of scary stories, (none of which I can print here, for fear of being kicked off . This isn't , guys.)

So the next morning, when Crutchy scootched over to her own bunk on her stomach to grab her crutch, she expected that she had completely managed to avoid complete and total embarrassment, and that today would just be a totally normal day.

Well….not really.

Last night, everyone was too paranoid to go back to their own bunks, for fear of flesh-eating rats chewing their faces off while they were sleeping, so everyone had just kinda passed out around 1:00 AM in the exact spot they were in when they were listening to the stories swapped around. Which of course meant that, while Crutchy tried not to step on anyone or any of the traps they set, she was bound to hit at least a few.

Which was why she found herself tripping over Dutchy (A girl with shaggy blond hair that fell to just above her hips, with glasses tucked on the collar of her light blue blouse and dark blue denim vest, with a caramel-colored skirt), landing hard on her backside , then getting up and trying to walk past Jackie's bunk (or where she was sleeping anyway), and finally getting drenched with a bucket of ice water.

Jackie sat up and immediately looked at the moonlit figure. ''We've got you now, Jeff!'' she said, her breath coming out in short pants, ''Leave now before we kill you in the face! A lot!''

''Jackie, calm down.'' Crutchy said, moving a sopping mass of curls out of her face, ''It's me, Crutchy.''

At this point, Dutchy dug a small flashlight out of her pocket and shone it in the girl's eyes. ''Hang on, Crutchy.'' she said, ''We need to make sure you ain't possessed.''

Crutchy herself reacted by looking away and holding her hand up to block the beam. ''Ugh, Dutchy! Can't a girl get her papers around here without getting ambushed on all sides?''

She coughed again, covering her mouth with her handkerchief. She tried to hide it, but there was a light sprinkling of blood on the cloth.

''It's the real Crutchy.'' Dutchy confirmed.

But after seeing that, that's not what Jackie was concerned about. The poor teen's illnesses had gotten worse, and it was time to take action before she took her final breath. ''There's no way you're selling today, Crutchy. You're sick as a dog.'' she said sternly.

''Aww, but Jackie…'' the girl's words were cut off as she coughed again, prompting Dutchy to put a hand on her shoulder and lead her back to her bunk. ''Ssh, It'll be alright, just stay here.'' she said.

If only it could be certain.

-TIME SKIP-

Crutchy was sitting on her bunk, her back against the wall and her feet crossed at the ankles, reading _Little Men_ and overall, feeling like there was something left out. The girls should be here, , smoking, talking, laughing, and gambling. She was one of the quieter ones, but if her friends were here, she'd probably get hit in the head with a pair of socks around….

 _WHAP!_

Crutchy's hat was knocked off onto her pillow, and she heard Racetrack's voice echoing from the washroom. ''Hey Crutch, come look at this!'' Race yelled. Curiosity got the best of the teen and, tucking her crutch under her arm, she limped to the washroom.

As soon as she entered, though, she felt Jackie's knee drive into her ribcage. The brunette grabbed Crutchy's namesake and tossed it under the sinks, and Crutchy crumpled to the floor, weakened sufficiently from the knee to the chest. The freckled redhead's fleeting eyes caught a quick glimpse of Race filling up the bathtub, and she immediately began to panic, knowing what would happen next.

''Jackie! Please! You don't have to do this, it's _completely_ (cough) unnecessary! I'm (Hih-CHU!) fine, I swear!'' Crutchy pleaded. Jackie pulled her up to her standing height, and Crutchy's face began to turn a light pink when she saw that Jackie and Racetrack were undressing her.

Racetrack continued undoing all the buttons on Crutchy's shirt as she lectured gently. ''Crutchy, you know Jackie is doing this for you, right? You need to get the wounds cleaned out before they get infected.''

''Racetrack, I really appreciate the gesture, but seeing as I just got soaked to the bone with a bucket of water this morning, _**JACKIE….**_ '' Crutchy said, glaring at the girl, who just gave a shrug. ''Hey, at least I'm not scared of taking a freaking bath once in awhile.'' Jackie said, giving a small laugh.

''I'm not scared of taking-GWYAH!'' Crutchy's words were cut off as Jackie tugged down her skirts, leaving the poor teen in her undergarments. Jackie picked her up and set her in the washtub, much to Crutchy's embarrassment.

''Jackie, why can't I do this myself?'' she pleaded to no avail, ''You know I hate this!''

''I know, Crutch,'' Jackie responded, ''but I've been to the refuge, you're gonna have injuries all over yourself, it's much easier if you just have someone do it for you.'' Jackie pushed a warm washcloth over Crutchy's ribcage, being careful where she saw the various scrapes and bruises.

As Racetrack and Jackie continued, the water got tinted a light pink, then red, then a slightly deeper red, much like Crutchy's face whenever something like this happened to her. When Crutchy was handed the worn, threadbare yellow towels, it wasn't soon enough.

While Crutchy got dressed again, she noticed Jackie rummaging through a cabinet in the washroom containing various knicknacks. Soon, she reached what she wanted, sifting through bottles and used stamps and broken combs before pulling out….

 _A chef's knife, glistening in the pearly moonlight._

 _Jackie turned to face the freckled redhead, still holding the knife. ''Hold still,'' she said, ''This should only take a second.'' Crutchy walked back and tripped over the rim of the washtub in her haste to get away. ''Why are you doing this, Jackie?'' she called to the shadowy figure, ''What did I ever do to you?''_

'' _You have too many injuries. I'm going to finish the job.'' Jackie said, ''Besides, you were never any worth to me anyway. Or any of us. In fact, we all hated you because you brought us down so far in the strike. You've always depended on all of us to help you out when you needed it, like when you got beat up back in last December, but where were you that time Skittery got a papercut, huh?''_

'' _That's not true!'' Crutchy said, her heart beating faster than ever, ''I offered to get her a bandage, but she said she was fine! And even if you do kill me, I know Scout will notice!''_

 _Just then, a milky-white moonlit figure appeared on the windowsill. Jackie looked up to see one of the Queens newsies that Crutchy talked with often, a boy in his teens with shaggy, mouse-brown hair, wearing an icy blue shirt under a dark blue denim vest with caramel-colored trousers, looking at the scene below. Finally, the boy nodded approvingly. ''Go ahead,'' he said, ''She won't be missed.''_

 _At that point, Jackie drew nearer and plunged the knife into the girl's heart, a scream echoing across the night sky._

Jackie held up a glassy sea foam bottle filled about a third-full. Jackie wasn't planning to end the teen's life and hear her dying breath, but she might as well have been. The bottle's faded label claimed that the content was pyrazinamide, a medicine Crutchy knew burned your throat as you swallowed it, and tasted like if coffee and nightmares had a baby.

And now she was going to drink it.

Racetrack left the room and came back with a shot glass, and Jackie cautiously tipped most of the bottle into it. Then, Racetrack handed the glass to Crutchy, saying, ''Here you go, Crutch. By the way, if this is anything like strong liquor, you'll want to drink it in one gulp, just to get it over with. A word to the wise.''

Race winked, and then left the room, her midnight-black hair flying out behind her.

Crutchy looked at the glass in her hand, and finally decided that Racetrack was probably right. In one gulp, she tipped the pyrazinamide down her throat and almost immediately felt a knot in her stomach form. She leaned over threw up in the trash can next to her, and dragged her hand across her mouth. Just then, Jackie walked in, a glass of water in hand.

''See, this is why Race and I didn't wanna be here while you were drinking it,'' Jackie said, ending with a soft giggle. Crutchy took the glass from her hand and drained half of it before sliding her hand across her mouth again. ''Ugh,'' she said, ''Well, that felt terrible.''

Just then, Dutchy flipped over the railing, her hair quickly braided with more than a few strands out of place. ''What's the matter?'' she said, ''Did I miss anything?''

''Well, Jackie just undressed Crutchy against her will, threw her in the bathtub, gave her a bath, and then forced her to take medicine that made her puke her guts out,'' Race said sarcastically, ''So no, you didn't miss anything.''

''Well, it's 9:06 now, so you should probably be getting some rest now,'' Dutchy said.

When all four of the girls had gotten into their nightclothes, Dutchy looked over to Crutchy's bunk and saw that she was still awake, staring ahead and looking like she couldn't sleep. _Probably still shaken up from that awful medicine,_ Dutchy thought, smirking silently. She rifled through a book bag under her bunk before pulling out a small Dutch comb made from mahogany with butterscotch colored streaks running through it, the one thing she'd been able to bring when she left home.

Wordlessly, she walked over and hugged the shivering girl close. ''I'm guessing you can't sleep.'' she said, her voice tinged with sympathy. Crutchy gave a small nod before saying, ''It felt like fire. The medicine, I mean. They all tell me Jackie means the best, and I know she does, but haven't you ever doubted a promise like that?''

Dutchy's heart pained with memories of her past, filled with broken promises and people who acted like they were on her side, then stabbing her in the back once she really felt she had someone to believe in, who would always be there for her. One person had always cared for her though, and that had been her mother. Even when the chips were down, or Dutchy lay awake at night stressing about who was really her friend and who wasn't, her mother had always been there for her.

Dutchy brought the comb up and slipped it through the pre-teen's auburn curls. ''Ssh,'' she said, ''It will be alright.'' With that said, she began singing an old sea shanty from her past she knew well.

'' _Hush, the waves are rolling in,_

 _high and white with foam,_

 _The moon sets high above the rocks,_

 _The eagle calls us home.''_

'' _Hush! The winds sweep over land,_

 _Crisp and cold they come,_

 _The stars will twinkle in the night,_

 _The eagle calls us home._

 _Hush! The cows are herded in,_

 _Back to the barn they come,_

 _The angels keep watch as you sleep,_

 _The eagle calls us home.''_

Dutchy smiled when she saw Crutchy, asleep from her singing. She tucked the comb onto the bedside table before pulling the cover up to the girl's collarbone and finally going back to her own bunk.

 **I hope you enjoyed that last one as much as I enjoyed writing it! Hope you don't mind that this is a little different from my usual, I had it in my head for a while to do a Crutchy/Dutchy instead of a Jack/Crutchy, you can still see here that Jackie really cares a lot about Crutchy, though. I'm planning to make this a multichaptered series of genderbent stories if people like it. Anybody have any suggestions for the next chapter?**

 **Soak em' for Crutchy!**

 **-NewsieGirlScout**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so since none of you suggested ideas for a new chapter, I decided to post a Newsies/Frozen Fever in spirit of the winter! As always, please read and review and I hope you enjoy! (Also, side note-apologies for one of the errors in the last chapter, it should say ''This isn't** _ **Creepypasta,**_ **guys'' instead of being left blank. Thanks for putting up with my retard spelling.)**

'' _Crutchie''_ Jackie giggled, jostling the teen's shoulder. '' _Get up! It's your birthday!''_

'' _Happy birthday to youuuuuuu''_ Crutchie sang back, half asleep.

'' _No silly! It's_ _ **YOUR**_ _birthday!''_ Jackie told her.

'' _Happy birthday to me...''_ Crutchie said, in the same sing-song tone. Then, she got up in a sudden burst of excitement. ''It _is_ my birthday!''

''Yep!'' Jackie sang back. She gestured to the doorway, where Scout was waiting with his gift. ''Happy Birthday, Crutch!'' he said, holding out the package wrapped in-you guessed it-newspaper.

Crutchie took the package and set it on the bookshelf next to her. ''Hey, great to see ya, Scout!'' she said.

''Man, it's been so long! Well, I'd better get back to the prep team, but I assure you, today's gonna be awesome! Well, bye! Hope you enjoy your gift!'' Scout said, bouncing excitedly on his toes.

As Crutchie opened her gift, Jackie sang out in her melodious voice.

'' _You've never had a real birthday before,_

 _except of course the one you spent gazing at freedom's door,_

 _so I'm here way too late_

 _to help you celebrate_

 _and be your birthday date_

 _if I may…. Hih-chu!''_

Crutchie was pleasantly surprised to see the box was filled with butterscotch, one of her favorite sweets. She couldn't help wondering how Scout had managed to get it on half-penny wages, until it clicked. _Oh right. Scout's always around sugar, just the same way some people are always around butterflies._ She rolled her eyes playfully, before following her gaze to Jackie once more, who was rubbing her nose and wincing in that way that seemed really familiar.

'' _Jackie, I'm thinking you might have a cold…''_ she sang back.

"I don't get colds, kid.'' Jackie said, breaking out of her cheerful state for a minute. Then she picked up a piece of frayed newspaper twine on the floor, tied together with others and leading out the door. ''Just follow the string!''

She lapsed back into her song, watching as Crutchie followed the length of twine.

'' _I've got big plans, I've got surprises for today_

 _Nothing but nothing's gonna get in my way_

 _I've worked for weeks, planned everything inside my power_

 _I even got Silvers and Scout to take a shower!_

'' _If Snyder wants to get me back_ (Because Jackie had admittedly broken a few laws in the process of the planning)

 _I'd like to see him try!_

 _I'm on the right birthday planning track_

 _We're giving you the sun, the moon, and the sky!''_

'' _I'm making today a perfect day for you_

 _I'm making today the headlines if it's the last thing I do_

 _For everything you are to me and all you've been through_

 _I'm making today a perfect day for you!''_

''Hih-chu! Hih-chu!'' Jackie now had a nosebleed she was holding a torn-off bit of her sleeve to, much to Crutchie's worrying.

''Jackie, are you alright?'' Crutchie said, dropping the basket of newspaper-wrapped gifts the newsgirls had hidden and she had acquired along the way.

Jackie picked up the basket and handed it to Crutchie, coughing hard. ''I'm fine...hih-chu!''

##############################################################################

Meanwhile, Silvers and Scout had just pooled their spare change and brought back a freshly-baked chocolate cake from Jacobi's. They cautiously brought it towards the statue in town square and rested it on it's base. Silvers wiped sweat off his forehead before stating, "Oh wow, that took forever."

"It'll be worth it when we see the look on her face, though. Crutchie's gonna love it!" Scout said. They opened the lid of the box and set up the warm, fragrant cake on a spare area of the statue.

Stars stepped down from where he was arranging giant letters on a spare clothesline, spelling out the message, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRUTCHIE." Unfortunately, to get it all up to that height, he'd been standing on Horace Greecely's shoulder, so by "stepped down" it was a little more like "fell off."

Luckily, Scout caught him inches from the pavement, so Stars was unharmed. "Thanks Scout!" Stars said gratefully. "No problem, Stars. That's what party planning buddies do anyway!" Scout replied happily. Little did they know that when Jackie sneezed, it frightened the squirrels and other small woodland creatures in that area, who had all, weirdly enough, headed toward Town Square.

"Um...guys?" Silvers asked timidly. Stars and Scout looked over and saw that an army of squirrels was coming their way.

####################################

" _Surprise surprise this ones especially..hih-CHU!"_ Jackie sang out.

" _Wow, you've got me reeling, but I'm still concerned for you! I think it's time that we go back and get some rest.."_ Crutchie suggested.

" _We are not stopping, cause this next one is the beh-eh-hihCHU!"_ Jackie sang back.

" _Jackie, you gotta go lie down"_ Crutchie tried to convince.

" _No way, we gotta paint the town"_ Jackie insisted.

" _But you need medical attention!"_ Crutchie begged.

" _Are you sick? Why not try this cold remedy? Of my own invention!"_ Some random peddler belted out.

" _No thanks"_ Jackie said, a little weirded out.

" _We'll take it."_ Crutchie said. It was free, after all, and who knows? It might really help.

Just then, the two passed a choir of the younger Newsies, lined up on the steps near the Church.

" _We're making today a special day for you!"_

They sang.

" _Making today a special day!"_ Jackie echoed confidently.

" _We're singing a birthday song to make your wishes come true!"_ The choir chimed.

" _Wishes come true!"_ Jackie echoed once more. And indeed she had, because almost everything Crutchie had ever wished for was given to her by one of the Newsies at some point, to make up for the birthday she had spent in the refuge.

" _We love you, loyal Crutchie!"_ The children sang out. Wow, this was like every birthday and every Christmas rolled into one day, Crutchie thought, fit for a princess.

" _And I love ya too!"_ Jackie sang, putting her arm around Crutchie, who blushed slightly.

" _So we're making today a perfect day!"_ The party planning committee sang out.

" _A fabulous day in every way!"_ Jackie seconded.

" _Yes, we're making today a perfect day!"_

"Come on! Now we climb!" Jackie said.

"Woah, Jackie, that's too much! You sound like Race after coming home from the bar, you need to rest!" Crutchie begged, tugging Jackie's arm the other way.

" _Making dreams, making plans, follow the string to the end, you are my very best friend…"_ Jackie sang, in that same half-asleep tone Crutchie had used that morning when she was actually asleep.

"Jackie?" Crutchie exclaimed, heart pounding in her chest.

"What? I'm fIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiinnnnnne." Jackie said.

" _We're gonna climb! We're gonna sing! Follow the string! To the thing! Go go go go!"_ Jackie sang, " _Happy happy happy happy merry merry merry oh god this is hell birthday!"_ Just then, Jackie fell off the top of Medda's theatre, hurtling toward the pavement below.

" _Jackie!"_ Crutchie yelled, striking forward her outspread hand a second too late.

####################################

Stars held the cake out of reach of the squirrels, while standing on the shoulders of the two other boys. "Um….shouldn't we have some type of defense?" Silvers suggested.

"Speak for yourself, I'm kind of internally panicking right now!" Scout said, for he was being swarmed with squirrels and the knowledge that if he didn't hold steady, the sugary treat was at stake. But his nickname came from risking anything for his friends, like a Scout in the army, so he tried his best to stay still.

Silvers was in no better place. Not only did he have to hold Stars, but he was putting a lot of trust into a scrawny, awkward, teen to hold him up.

And lastly, Stars had the actual crown jewel in his hands, the frosted chocolate cake, which he now realized would be squirrel food if there was no defense. With a sigh of last resort, he moved his vest aside with one hand and unpinned the glowing Star of David he had kept every day since Racetrack left. He let it fall onto the sparkling cobblestones, and the squirrels moved toward it,attracted by its shine.

"Stars!" Scout gasped softly, "You'd let the squirrels get that pin?"

"Hey," Stars responded with a sad smile, "That's what party planning buddies do anyway."

####################################

Jackie caught herself in time, landing like a cat poised on her hands and feet. "Jackie, look at you! You're burning up! You have a fever!" Crutchie said.

" _Alright, we can't go on like this_

 _Let's put this day on hold,_

 _Come on, admit it to yourself."_

Crutchie sang softly.

"Okay. I have a cold.." Jackie admitted. "I'm sorry Crutch. I just wanted to give you one perfect I ruined it, didn't I?"

"You didn't ruin anything. Let's get you to bed." Crutchie assured her.

Just as they passed by the Horace Greeceley statue, though, the party committee phased their part.

" _SURPRISE!"_ They shouted, before continuing with the song.

" _We're making today a perfect day for you!_

 _We're making today a smiley face all shiny and true!"_

" _There's a fine line between chaos"_ Stars sang out in his melodious voice.

" _And a hullabaloo!"_ Silvers cheered.

 _So we're making today a perfect day_

 _Making today a special day,_

 _Making today a perfect day,_

 _Making today a perfect day for you!"_

"Happy birthday." Scout said, smiling warmly at Crutchie, who was giggling at the surprise of all the squirrels.

The others continued,

" _Making today a happy day and no feeling blue!"_

" _I love you cinnamon!"_ Scout belted out, handing Crutchie the cake. He almost immediately turned a light pink when he saw Silvers and Jackie laughing. Stars was picking up his pin from where it lay on the pavement, and so far was one of the few not laughing at Scout's expense.

 _For everything you are to us, and all that you do, we're making today a perfect day,_

 _Making today a perfect day,_

 _Making today a special day"_ the choir continued.

 _Perfect day…._ Jackie echoed.

"All right, to bed with you." Crutchie said, still giggling at the squirrel running across her shoulders.

####################################

"Best birthday present ever." Crutchie said, carefully carrying a styrofoam bowl of soup toward Jackie's bunk.

"What?" The brunette wheezed, taking a sip from the side of the spoon of soup.

Crutchie pulled the covers up to Jackie's ribs before answering affectionately, "You letting me take care of you."

 **Modern AU Silvers:** _ **And**_ **the footage on my phone of you earlier!**

 **Modern AU Scout: (blushes)** _ **WHAT? You FILMED THAT?**_ **Gimme that phone!**

 **Modern AU Jackie: You filmed that? High five, Silvers!**

 **Scout: I WOULD KILL YOU BOTH IF IT WASN'T CHRISTMAS!**

 **Jackie: And if you weren't a nerdy fangirl dreading Gym class every day.**

 **Scout: Yeah, probably. ;)**

 **I would make today the perfect day for all of you who just read that if I could, but super thanks to Doge Queen's Winter Wonderland and theater104 for letting me use them as for this silly little short. Party planning committee buddies forever! :)**

 **Thanks for reading and Soak 'me for Crutchie!**

 **-NewsieGirlScout**


	3. Ask-Newsies

**Okay, so today instead of one-shots or parodies, we're answering questions! And just to clarify in advance, Gravity Falls and MLP will both be mentioned at least once, but Gravity Falls is now a book series and MLP is a continuous story made up by Silvers and I. Also, I still don't own Disney, Newsies, Gravity Falls, Hasbro, or My Little Pony , blah blah blah and legal stuff.**

 **First up, what is your greatest fear?**

 **Jackie** : Thunder. My old man went out drinking in a thunderstorm once, a real bad one with lightning striking every few seconds. He came back, but he wasn't the same man he used to be. The first thing he did was stab my mother, a real nice lady, in the heart. Then he told me I'd better run.

 **Racetrack** : The fear of being alone, actually. Sounds cheezy, but there's a reason I'm always with at least twenty other idiots at a time.

 **Dahlia** : Gee, I don't know..maybe glossophobia?

Jackie: Of course I can count on you to speak like the Queen of England. I'm not even going to ask why you're afraid of glossy photos.

 **Kid Blink:** Darkness. I only got half the amount of eyes as a regular person as it is. I don't particularly enjoy not being able to see what's behind me, whether it's one of the girls trying to make me freak out or someone...some _thing_ , even, breathing down the back of my neck.

 **Mush:** Seeing someone hurt and not being able to help.

 **Crutchie:** Oh, em...mine's kind of embarrassing, I'd kinda rather not share it….that is, if _someone_ hadn't already written all about it and sent it to the press! *glares at Scout.*

Scout: That could have been anyone.

Crutchie: Really? Who else here obsessive-compulsively writes about the bond between brothers? Or in my case, sisters?

Scout: I'm going to deny everything you just said. Also, you have no evidence to back that up.

Crutchie: Stan O' War II.

Scout: *eyes get sparkly while starting to tear up* Okay fine. It could have been Stars, though.

Crutchie: Stars doesn't write in cursive!

Scout: Fine, ya' got me. ''The Fear Within'', everyone.

Crutchie: How about if I just say heights for the thing and we go get sandwiches?

Scout: Okay, sure. Sounds awesome.

 **Skittery:** Having my mother come back. Some people think having family to remember is all that, but to tell the truth, there are a lot of things I'd rather forget.

 **Leslie:** If Jackie and Crutchie really had left to Santa Fe. At home or everywhere really, everyone expects me to be all proper and stuff. Keep my hair neatly braided and sit up straight and drink your tea like a lady and all that. But here, everything's much more fun. Jackie's like the big sister I wanted, and Crutchie always had a way of making everything better. Without them, this place would fall apart and I'd have to go back to being all proper and stuff.

 **Snipeshooter:** Boys. Boys carry more cooties than you can imagine.

 **Tumbler:** Well, once I heard a story where Silvers slit Crutchie's stomach, slowly tore out her spine, pulled out her intestines and set a pack of squirrels into her chest to shred her entrails apart so she could make Crutchie into cupcakes….so now I'm afraid of Silvers…

 **Spot:** Nothing. I'm not afraid of anything.

Racetrack: Aww, c'mon, Spot! Mine sounds like it came out of one of those pony stories Scout and Silvers like...even though they're boys….yours can't be too bad!

Jackie: She's afraid of mice.

Spot: What? Pssh, that's ridiculous, Jackie-girl.

Silvers: *giggles* Then I guess you won't mind meeting one of my new friends, Mr. Nibbles! *holds out palm, a tiny alley mouse rests on it*

Spot: GYAH! GET IT AWAY!

Spot: *dusts self off* I just..*coughs* assumed your friends wouldn't like it…

Stars: Awwww, what a cute little guy! *pets it softly behind its ear*

Scout: Awww, hi little fella! Want a piece of my sandwich? *places sandwich scrap on Silver's palm*

Crutchie: *giggles and pets Mr. Nibbles* I swear, what is it with you guys and tiny, adorable animals?

Spot: Fine. I don't like the idea having mice run up my skirts and bite me. Happy?

Jackie: _Very._

 **Stars:** Not being remembered for what I've done in life. Depressing, I know.

 **Silvers:** Being kicked out of one of my fandom groups. Roleplaying as someone else is pretty much the best thing ever, and I would be devastated if Storm just up and decided to kick me off the squad.

 **Scout:** Awww what? We have to do this too? Fine. I got two emotions, and that's joy and fear. But I'm not telling what mine is.

Silvers: You can't hide it forever, Scout.

Scout: *sighs* Fine. I'm afraid of mirrors. Not mirrors in general, but the paranoia of looking into one and the possibility of seeing something besides your reflection.

Crutchie: *scribbling down on notepad* Mirrors….*giggling* _blackmail time._

 **Q. Best memories, everyone?**

 **Jackie:** I don't remember much from before I became a newsie. And what I do remember ain't exactly sunshine and rainbows. But I guess I'll say comforting Crutchie after a nightmare. It's nice to know that there's still someone I can be of use to, y'know? She's so optimistic and innocent, and she looks adorable when she's asleep….I ain't got parents or nothin', but that doesn't mean that I can't be hers.

Crutchie: Thanks, Jackie.

Scout: *scribbling down notes* Awww….that's sweet you two…

Jackie: Go home, Scout.

 **Racetrack:** Let me tell ya something, people. I got a brother. A real one, by blood. Stars might hang around Queens, but only because he's a guy. And when we were younger, we got into all kinds of trouble. I can't even begin to recall the number of times I got into fights with other girls. And at least once, I got in trouble for that too. ''All you do is cheat, lie, and ride on your brother's coattails,'' they said as I ran up to our bedroom. But Stars could sing like an angel, bake like a chef, and make me feel like I was the one good thing that came out of this mess. Even when I got thrown to the streets, I knew he'd come back. That's why I kept my last name, as much as I didn't want to remember home. I wanted to remember Stars.

 **Dahlia:**

Jackie: Wait wait, I got this. *raises voice an octave* I'm Dahlia, and I'm so perfect and wonderful it's hard to pick just one, but probably the time I raised a charity for starving babies and earned seventeen million dollars.

Dahlia: Are you done now?

Jackie: *laughs* Yes. Now, please doll, tell us all the perfect wonderful things you've done.

Dahlia: Actually, my favorite memory is probably getting the highest marks in the class. It feels great to know all the hard work pays off somehow.

Jackie: Aaaaand I officially hate you.

 **Kid Blink:** That's easy! Becoming pirate captain One-eye, the terror of the seas! I in fact once fought a kraken to reach the golden treasure hidden in the depths of the shimmering seas in the city known as Atlantis. Even today, handsome gentlemen fall head over heels when they see my impressive fighting skills and wondrous golden tresses. *whispers and nudges Silvers in ribs* Offer to put your coat over that mud puddle for me, Silvers.

Silvers: First off, I don't wear a coat. Second, how about no. The fair and mighty Silvers does not do that sort of thing.

 **Mush:** So I was walking past this alley, when I heard a mewing from the dumpster. I cautiously lifted up the lid, and there was a tiny bundle of fluff inside, wet and cold. I couldn't leave this poor creature there, so I put it in my paper bag on top of my jacket and took it back. And that's why we have a cat.

 **Crutchie:** Gosh, I have so many! There's the time I met Jackie...or the strike….or meeting Scout and Silvers...or the time on my birthday when she, Silvers, and Stars surprised me with the cake and squirrels...or when Scout forced me to read the first book of some old paperback series called _Gravity Falls_ and it was awesome…

Racetrack: Since when have you ever _not_ been happy? Seriously, I think all you have are joyful memories. You have problems, my girl.

 **Skittery:** I ain't got memories I want. Case closed.

 **Leslie:** The strike! The strike was the best thing since cake!

 **Snipeshooter:** Welp, I'm out. I ain't got good memories. 'Cept playing marbles with Leslie and Tumbler maybe. But other than that, life sucks.

 **Tumbler:** Well...um...meeting Skittery was nice...and I sure enjoy her company a lot…

 **Silvers:** *laughs* Glad you asked. You see, Scout and I hung out a lot around a ''Glass Shard beach'' when we were younger, and I just wanted to have fun most of the time, but Scout always seemed to want to search for...what was it?...oh yeah, pirate ghosts and mermaids.

Scout: *coughs* Which was a _very_ legitimate pursuit.

Silvers: Yeah, sure. For nerds. But I am also a nerd so...Mystery Twins? *spits on palm, offers it to Scout*

Scout: *spit-shakes Silvers* Mystery Twins!

Silvers: So anyway, we found this old cave one day, and when we walked inside, I had this excellent idea. I told Scout I heard whispers and moans from behind me, and then as soon as he turns around, I jumped behind a rock and crouched down. And by golly, you should have seen him. He just panicked. ''I ain't afraid of no pirate ghosts! Give me back my brother!'' he starts yelling. So I came out from behind the rock and he jumped about a foot in the air, screaming like a little girl. Finally, he put his hand on his chest and started gasping heavily, I think she had a tear streaking down her cheek too at this point, and his voice totally cracked for a second, saying, ''I thought you were dead, Silvers! Don't ever leave me again, please!''

Also, he set his hair on fire.

Scout: Oh, please, guys. Don't believe _him,_ what kind of idiot do you take me for?

Crutchie: Eh..Scout...your hair _is_ on fire. Right now.

Scout: See? My hair's even on fire, thank you for pointing that out, Crutchie. OH MY GOSH, MY HAIR'S ON FIRE!

 **Scout:** *gingerly pats out flame* Well...that was...something. But I'd have to say for best memory…gee, actually, I have so many of these! But the last Gravity Falls got released last night and I'm still internally crying and screaming with joy, so I'm going to say Gravity Falls: Weirdmaggedon part 3.

 **Stars:** Becoming a newsie. That was freaking amazing.

 **Racetrack: Goodbye, Internet! Please come again NEVER!**

 **Scout: Special thanks to theater104 and Doge who howls with Aspen tree, okay okay. I'm going to go change my name and run away to the depths of the Everfree Forest forever now.**

 **Crutchie: Or you, Stars, Silvers, and I could just go get sandwiches again.**

 **Stars/Silvers/Scout: Yeah, sounds good.**

 **((And if any of you are curious about the whole memories thing with Blink, that was a shoutout to another excellent fanfic which I've reblogged onto my tumblr, newsiegirlscout . tumblr . com))**

 **Internet cupcakes for all of you who just read that right now! I'm just going to go get sandwiches with my besties so..bye!**


	4. The Fourth Wall

_It was a dark and stormy evening when the fourth wall shattered into countless splinters of madness._

Kid Blink chewed the end of her pen, giving a slight smile at the last sentence she had written. Yes, it was a good start; but what to write next? Wait! There it is!

 _I was sitting in my office at a quarter past three, sipping a steaming cup of coffee pensively as I watched the raindrops streak the glass window, when I heard a hard rapping at my door._

 _I swung my emerald-green stilettos off the desk, clicking across the tiled floor with my cup in hand. My neatly trimmed, sapphire nails grazed the brass doorknob slightly, and I pulled open the door to reveal a disheveled, though still ruggedly handsome, businessman._

" _I need your help, Adeline," he panted, reaching into his briefcase, "Insanity reigns in the remains of what used to be an organized city of dreamers. Time lines from different centuries are merging together, with absolutely no boundaries between now and tomorrow!" He slammed a crumpled photograph onto the desk. Depicted was a gray image I thought I'd forgotten,taken after the war. It was a nostalgic memory, and I let out a short gasp as I recognized myself as a beautiful soldier, standing amidst my old friends. One of them had a banner on her crutch, reading in emblazoned letters, "STRIKE!" I couldn't see what this picture had to do with this gentleman's case, but he grabbed a red pen from his shirt pocket and circled one particular face in the group, a boy with bright eyes behind wire-framed spectacles._

" _I want you to find the boy who started this chaos."_

The blond paused for a minute, absently scribbling in the margins of her notebook. Hearing the sound of paper tearing behind her, she turned around…

Only to find Scout bouncing anxiously behind her, his eyes sparkling as he held a bag of fluffy white, buttery morsels in a red-and-white striped paper concessions bag.

"Whatcha waiting for, Blink-y? Write some more, I wanna see where this is going! Who's the boy who broke the fourth wall?"

Kid Blink eyed the newsboy suspiciously.

"Where'd ya get the popcorn, Scout?" she asked.

"What's popcorn?", he asked, "I'm eating licorice...from the sweet shop down in Queens...why, do you want any? I've got taffy and malted milk balls, too!"

Sure enough, he held a pack of licorice in his hands. His paper bag, perched near the window, nearly spilled over with the other candies he'd offered.

"Nah", she said, waving her hand dismissively, "Why don'tcha go see if Leslie and Tumbler want any? I think they're outside, probably setting fire to something."

"Yay! Arson!" He cheered, slinging his satchel over his shoulder and climbing through the window.

"Scout? You know we have a door, right?" Klopman called after her, looking up from her paperwork.

"Yup! I _also_ know that doors are overrated!" he called, kicking his legs past the frame and landing on his knees in the dust. Racetrack turned to look quizzically at Klopman and Kid Blink.

"Since when has "overrated" been a legal word? What does that even mean?" she said, shuffling a pack of cards.

"It means that Scout's totally nuts." Blink sighed.

############################################################################

It was a winter twilight, and Kid Blink's throat strained from yelling her headlines to the empty streets. She'd gotten her usual forty down to eight, but eight was a number she couldn't afford to eat. The regularly- bustling streets were now nearly deserted, and the only person he could see was a familiar-looking, silver-pinned newsie exiting the bookshop with a faded novel under his arm.

"Hey, Stars! Going to Queens?" She asked, stepping over to the teenger's pace.

"Yep! Do you wanna come with me?" He inquired, "I sure could use some sensible company, seeing as Silvers, Crutchy, and Scout have decided it would be an excellent idea to make a giant, fluffy rug-blanket thing for the boy's lodging house. Ignoring the fact that none of them know how to knit. Or sew. Or crochet. I mean, _Dahlia_ can hardly knit a scarf, so how would any newsie know how? I think they set up work in your house to ask Klopman, under the reasoning, 'She had mittens that one time,so she probably knows how to make a blanket-rug-thing.'"

"Uh..Wow. That sure was descriptive. Unfortunately, I've got a few more papes, but...perhaps we could meet up another time? Tell me when that rug-blanket is finished, though...It's freezing out here!" she chuckled softly, falling into rhythm with Star's footsteps despite herself.

Stars stopped in his tracks.

"Shoot, why didn'tcha tell me you were having trouble selling, Blink? I sold out hours ago! You coulda' come to Queens to hawk a few of those papes! Heck, you could probably lift your last few _now!_ "

"I find this rather interesting, Stars. The headlines aren't too great- 'Stamped envelopes stolen and sold for higher prices'- not to mention it ain't even Sunday. How did you sell out so fast?" She said, tucking her papers into her bag.

"You know how I wasn't in the strike? And neither was Silvers? Or Scout? Or any male newsie you know?", Stars explained, fidgeting with his pin and walking towards his home in Queens, beckoning Kid Blink to follow, "That's because we're what's known as OCs."

"OCs?"

"Off-Camera. Optional-Choice. I'm not sure, but it essentially means that, since we weren't there officially, we come and go when we want. A few other newsies have noted that some OCs seem to make lots of money their first time selling...which is due to the fact that everybody has their own selling technique, there are a lot of other, _rich_ OCs in Queens, and, well...take it from there."

 _This was the first crack in the walls of the tightly-contained play of shadows and light we call life. Apparently, as my childhood friend pointed out, there was some sort of..alternate dimension for a special type of newsie referred to as an O.C, where buyers flourished. Why hadn't we been cued in earlier, I didn't know._

The duo reached the moonlit pavement of the borough soon enough, only a few couples and miscellaneous adults strolling through the park.

"Wait, isn't Queens about twelve miles from Manhattan?" Kid Blink asked, tucking a strand of her golden-blond hair behind her ear.

" _Welcome to Queens YesIHaveNoClueHowWeGotHereInLikeTenMinutes!"_ Stars cheered. "Now, c'mon! I said I'd help you hawk your last few papes, so I'm going to do just that! May I have a paper to demonstrate?"

Blink handed it to him, and Stars separated it into single sheets, folding each one just so until he had a bouquet of newspaper flowers. Striding over to a couple holding hands on a park bench, he casually slid over next to them.

"Hello there! Has anybody told you two that you make a lovely couple? You look do happy together, under the starlight...I don't suppose you'd be interested in a bouquet to commemorate this night, would you?"

"Thank you, dear, but...wouldn't flowers wilt after a few days?" The woman asked tentatively.

"Not these ones!", he said, displaying the bundle of origami flowers, "They'll last year's, beautiful, elegant, _annnd_ intelligent! Because they're made from newspapers as a bookish approach to traditional floral arrangements! I guarantee you'll love them!"

"Should we be asking why you're selling flowers instead of something more...masculine?" asked the man in amusement.

"No! No, you shouldn't! In fact, flowers themselves are referred to in the masculine in Latin!" Stars said, still maintaining his salesman cheer.

"In that case, we'd love them! How much are they?" asked the man.

"Well, I usually sell them at around ten to twenty-five cents...but for the happy couple, these flowers won't cost more than two coppers!" he responded happily.

"We'll take it!" the man said, and Stars handed over the bouquet in exchange for the man's change. His girlfriend giggled and tucked a single one of her blossoms behind his ear.

Once out of sight, Stars allowed himself a small bow.

"And _that",_ he said with a flourish, "Is how you sell out in Queens."

##############################################################################

 _I couldn't see how his technique was executed so elegantly on the first try, but it didn't take a detective to see his creativity as a selling point. So far, everything was fine at first glance...but you had to look for the bend in reality, the fractures in the framework, to catch anything amiss._

"Hey, Silvers," Kid Blink said, arriving at the Queens Lodging House for Boys doorstep, her scruffy blond hair thrown over one shoulder, heels clicking as she walked, "How's that rug-blanket coming along?"

"Pretty slowly," Silvers said, unfazed by Blink's sudden arrival, "None of us knew how to knit or sew until yesterday, so we had to ask Klopman, who didn't know either, so we had to ask Medda's costume crew."

"I see. And Crutchy didn't have the faintest idea of where to start stitching? Even if you tore it, midway through?"

"Um...you _knit_ a blanket. The sewing was to add a motif or border later. And I already said none of us knew how to sew at first, why would Crutchy somehow know more?"

"Allow me to refresh your memory, Mister Silvers. As you might recall," Kid Blink said smoothly, pacing across the wooden floor, "Crutchy has a rip in her skirts, clearly _hand-stitched_ back together. Assuming that she would only allow herself to mend a tear in her skirts while she was wearing them….Crutchy knows how to sew."

Silvers gasped dramatically, pretending to faint onto his bunk and the beginnings of the rug-blanket (which covered a third of the mattress).

"You don't say! So Crutchy knew how to sew _all along_ and she didn't tell us? What _lives_ could have been saved with this vital information?"

He laughed heartily, then stood up again to face a reddening Kid Blink. "So.. _why_ did you come from Manhattan to tell us? And how did you make your shoes click like a starlet's high heels?"

"Okay, first of all-I superglued bottle caps to my shoes. Why, do you like them? Secondly; have you noticed there are a few things happening that don't quite add up?" Blink inquired, putting her hand to her chin in thought, "Quick-what's the name of the protagonist in your pony stories?"

"Your shoes are awesome, and there are _six_ protagonists- Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Stardust's Revenge, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity."

"Pinkie Pie is the best." he added helpfully.

"Thank you, Silvers. May I ask Scout's favorite book series?"

"Gravity Falls, of course!"

"One final question- _what happened to Crutchie?"_

"Blink. You're scaring me. Crutchy is in Manhattan, isn't she?"

Kid Blink facepalmed and blushed a deeper scarlet. Grabbing her notebook and a pen, she wrote out, "CRUTCHIE" in block letters and showed it to her friend.

" _Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….._ "

Silvers gasped, "I'm so sorry, it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference audibly...I'm not sure where she is! You should really ask Scout when he gets back." He finished, glancing at his wrist. "In the meantime, why don't you stay here for like….forty-five minutes? He's probably at Sarah Anne's Sweet Shoppe, buying out their supply."

 _The gentleman was obliviously calm despite the circumstances. Not batting an eye at the idea his friend had torn the fabric of reality and destroyed sanity as we know it, his mind seemed set to pleasant conversation, unknowing of the perils that lay ahead in calling out the culprit. I was certain it was Scout who had done it now. "He had always been at least a partial psychopath," I mused to myself "But I never expected him to be a deity of total corruption of the galaxy."_

##########################################################################

Forty-five minutes later exactly, Scout entered the room, paper bag laden with confection.

"Ayy, Blink! You're here!" He cheered, setting his bag on a nearby counter.

The teenaged girl, who had been lying across Silver's bunk, ponytail brushing the floor, suddenly flipped to an upright position, jabbing her finger into the newsboy's chest.

" _Where's Crutchie?"_

"Uh..back in Man-" he started, a bit flustered before Blink showed him the notebook.

"Oh yeah! Her! Yeah, she's…...I have no clue where she is. She kinda comes and gos, did ya' notice? Wonder why that is…" He mused, "I mean, she was there for her birthday and for the questionnaire…"

" _So you admit you did it!"_

"Yes, Blink. You caught me," Scout said as he put his hands up in surrender, "I totally committed the horrible crime..of getting chocolate-butterscotch wafer cookies! Okay, fine, I'll share." he laughed, digging the pack from his bag and tearing it open, then setting it between the three.

Silvers took three, all of them easily the size of his head.

"Not what I meant, Scout... _if that is your name!_ The fourth wall is breaking, and you know it, for you are the one who caused the destruction."

Scout's eyes widened in shock.

"Woah...that's a pretty big accusation to make there, Blink-y! Also...what are you referring to when you say the fourth wall?"

"I _mean",_ Blink said, clearing her throat, "That you're bending reality and bringing stuff in from other dimensions. Your favorite book series is listed here as "Gravity Falls", for heaven's sake!"

"Okay. Fair point. I broke the fourth wall, then. A lot. How does this have to do with the disappearance of Crutchie?"

Blink sat down and took a cookie.

"She probably fell through the fourth wall, then. In that case, she'll come back when _you.._ " she said, crossing her ankles and gesturing with her wafer towards Scout, "feel like writing about her. In the meantime, there shouldn't be any trouble, so long as you keep some kind of consistency. Thanks for the cookies, by the way!"

"No problem!" Scout laughed, joining her as he sat on the floor.

########################################################################

Stars walked in shortly afterward, muttering to himself.

" _Ugh...this craft glue will take forever to wash out of my bag…"_

He rubbed his palms on his trousers and rested his gaze on the box of cookies.

"Oh, hey! Cookies! May I have one?"

Scout nodded happily.

"You have any luck with your newspaper flowers today?"

"Yeah...apart from the fact that I-unwisely- made them triple-layered. Sold out even faster, though!"

The newsboy reached over to take a cookie from the pack. His hand stopped short when warped tears were heard, and his gaze flickered at the glowing portals opening across the room. From each one jumped a different variant of the same newsie, until the wormholes closed and Crutchie knelt on the floor, her bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat.

" _Ugh...what happened?"_ she said in unison with a male version of herself, a sunburst-colored Earth pony with a crutch, a version in a wheelchair (wearing denim shorts, a _My Chemical Romance_ shirt obscured by a soft orange jacket, and a sock monkey hat), and a version with a knife tucked in her pocket, dark circles under her eyes, and a shirt stained with a fluid the color of red wine.

Kid Blink couldn't help but crack a grin at the sheer obscurity.

"Scout's fault, kid. You still remember your idiot boyfriend, don'tcha?"

Crutchie laughed wanly.

"Could never forget."

The newsgirl flushed scarlet and smiled, grabbing Crutchie's hand and gradually pulling her to a standing position.

"I'm glad you're back, Crutch! Here, I'll take you home...it's the least I can do, believe me."

Beckoning Blink to follow, the three walked back to Manhattan, laughing almost silently in the dead of the night.

"Wait, I'm gay?" asked the male version of Crutchie.

 **I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. :)**

 **I'm so sorry I haven't written in a forever and a half...but here it is now! The insane chaos that is Scout trying to explain stuff!**

 **Kudos to Darude Dogestorm and theater104 for allowing me the use of their characters once again...And again, the story focuses wayyy too heavily on the goofy antics of the OCs, my guilty writing pleasure. (My other guilty writing pleasure is angst! Especially killing beloved characters! Yeah, I think I'd rather write about origami newspaper flowers, thank you.) I apologize for the weird centering on Scout this time…*screams*** _ **I'MMMM PINKIE PIEEEEEEEE!...**_ **but I double-promise the next thing I post will be Jack/Crutchy platonic angst, pure and simple, possibly bittersweet, with no dimension-bending chaos. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.**

 **Soak 'em for Crutchy!**


End file.
